Search — Theology Explorer

Filter results by source database — Scripture Commentary, Theology, Mike Winger, or Pulpit. Click a tab to narrow to one database.

...more

All (111) Mike Winger (111)

Mike Winger idea 2021-02-05

Matthew 13:44-46 (Pearl of Great Price / Treasure in the Field): interpretation debate — is the person Jesus or the believer? Mike leans toward Jesus as the buyer.

Question from C. Bates about Matthew 13:44-45.

Hebrews 12:2 Matthew 13:44 Matthew 13:45-46 Atonement Hebrews 12:2 Matthew 13:44

Mike Winger idea 2021-02-26

Hardened heart and repentance — how to break callousness and return to closeness with God

Final question: someone says their heart has become hard through continued rebellion, they no longer feel sorry, and they miss living close to Christ.

Matthew 13:44-46 (Pearl of Great Price / Treasure in the Field): interpretation debate — is the person Jesus or the believer? Mike leans toward Jesus as the buyer.

Hardened heart and repentance — how to break callousness and return to closeness with God

Resting in God does not mean absence of anguish — the "bedrock" model of Christian peace

Parting thought: eternal perspective reframes present suffering

Praying for healing for a child with a birth defect — contentment vs. miracle prayer

God chose to redeem through the cross to display his love, patience, righteousness, and desire for relationship simultaneously.

Drew's Question 1: Why did God communicate through literature? Literature demands interpretation, leading to contradictory sects and suffering (e.g., JW blood transfusions). If God couldn't do better, he's not omnipotent; if he didn't know, not omniscient; if he didn't care, not omni-benevolent.

Cameron Bertuzzi identifies that Drew conflates suffering with unjustified suffering. The real burden is showing the suffering is unjustified, which Drew assumes but doesn't argue. Questions are not arguments — you must defend premises, not just state conclusions.

Drew's Question 4: If God knows who will choose him, why not only create those people and skip earthly suffering? If free will is the answer, that implies heaven lacks free will (since there's no suffering there), making earth better than heaven.

Cameron responds: 3 of 4 questions are really just versions of the problem of evil. Questions are not arguments — they require structured premises and conclusions. Cameron identifies three goods requiring earthly existence before heaven.

Good #3: Soul-building theodicy — suffering provides opportunities to develop character virtues (sacrifice, courage, compassion, forgiveness). Good #4: Robin Collins' connection-building theodicy — virtuous responses to evil create valuable relationships that grow infinitely over time.

The crowd adds "blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David" — not from Psalm 118 — reflecting their political expectations. The OT sometimes calls the Messiah "David" as a typological title.

Argument 4 — "Religion is desperation, fear of reality" (Nietzsche) — is circular (assumes atheism is reality) and actually describes Buddhism more than Christianity. Atheism itself denies key realities.

Four theodicies provide a cumulative answer to the problem of evil: soul-building, free will, natural law, and skeptical theism.

The problem of evil is the #1 argument that practically draws people away from God, but Christianity alone offers both intellectual answers and emotional/pastoral hope — atheism offers neither explanation nor solution.

Overview: Mark 11:22-25 is the #1 Word of Faith verse. Winger approaches it by sidebaring the Kenneth Copeland debate to first understand the passage in its original context, then apply it.

Mark 14 (Gethsemane) is the intentional counterpoint to Mark 11 — Jesus with perfect faith, no sin, no unforgiveness prays and God says NO. Faith means trusting God both when he says yes AND when he says no.

Conclusion: Mark 11 teaches new-covenant prayer through Christ, accessed by faith (not works). Real faith believes both for miracles AND in suffering when God says no. The harder path of faith is trusting God's "no."

A consistent OT pattern: it's the LEADERS of Israel who persecute God's messengers (Jezebel vs. Elijah, Saul vs. David, people of Ephraim vs. Gideon, King Jehoiakim vs. Jeremiah). The motive: wanting power, credit, and avoidance of suffering.

Isaiah 53:4-5 is the crux: "he was pierced FOR our transgressions, crushed FOR our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace was UPON HIM." The word "chastisement" is ALWAYS affliction from God in the prophets. Isaiah 53:10 confirms: "it was the will of the LORD to crush him."

Bible Contradiction?: Can you explain the what appears to be contradiction in 1 Kings 7: 26 and 2 Chronicles 4:5, due to the different numbers?

Fruit of the Spirit – Longsuffering: Could you please explain what longsuffering means, in regard to the fruit of the Spirit?

Trusting God in Very Difficult Times: Do you have any advice for dealing with a miscarriage? It’s the first time in my life where I’ve been angry at God. I know He’s sovereign, but it’s difficult to accept right now.

Biblical Help when Struggling with Infertility: I recently have had intense disappointment and grief in my life re: fertility and am struggling with not knowing God's path for my life. Do you have any biblical help to heal and move forward?

Does the P. of Talents demand Physical Work?: My preacher uses the Parable of Talents to say we must go out to do work for the Lord. I have chronic illness and I don't have energy for stuff outside of my family. Does this mean I waste my talents?

About Jesus’ Suffering: Did Jesus need to have suffered the most pain ever for Him to be worthy to save us? How should we answer the objection that some people have supposedly suffered worse pain, i.e. from torture or the Holocaust?

How to Be Content While Suffering: God has blessed my life and I know it could be worse, but I'm severely disabled and sometimes I feel so trapped in my body that I want to die, but know that I can't. How do I learn to be content?

Why does God Allow Children to have Cancer?: Why does God allow children to get cancer and other terminal illnesses?

Can God Give Commands when He Forced us to Exist?: Is it fair for God to demand our everything when we are forced to exist? I know Christ died for us, but it seems unfair to go through such suffering and sacrifice to receive salvation and avoid Hell.

What does it Mean to “Share in Christ’s Sufferings”?: When we share in Christ’s sufferings, does that refer only to suffering that comes in opposition to doing God’s will, or can it also include something like suffering through a disease or a loss?

“My Yoke is Easy” vs. “Take Up Your Cross”?: I’m confused about why Jesus says “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden” but then instructs us to pick up our cross (of suffering?) and follow Him. That sounds like a heavy burden to me, to try to love and obey Jesus perfectly.

Resolving a Scriptural Discrepancy: In the KJV, 2 Kings 8: 26 and 2 Chronicles 22:2 give two completely different ages for Ahaziah when he took the throne. How can we account for this?

Encouragement Amid Physical Limitations: What counsel would you give a discouraged believer with a debilitating chronic illness who carries a lot of guilt for not being able to serve in the ways they want to be able to?

Is My Daughter’s Cancer a Punishment?: When I got pregnant from an ungodly relationship, I turned to God and know He forgave all my sins. But my daughter was born with cancer. Is this a punishment from God?

How to Biblically Process Grief: How do we deal with grief in the right & biblical way? I lost my dad months ago by sudden death. I feel worried, I’m angry, and I cry. I’m so tired of the rollercoaster feelings.

Animal Death Before the Fall?: If animal death occurred prior to the fall, wouldn’t that mean God called animal death/suffering “very good?” If we later see a wolf dwelling with a lamb, wouldn’t that indicate that prior to the fall, that was what we had enjoyed?

Were Christ’s Sufferings Lacking Something?: In Colossians 1: 24, what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings, and how is Paul contributing to them?

Why does God Heal Some Cancer but Not All?: I have a neighbor who can't get past this question: “My dad had cancer and died. You [me] had it and lived. Why does God think that's fair?”

The Problem of Evil: Why is there so much suffering if God is good? If He is almighty, why doesn’t He stop all the bad things?

Bible Link Settings